Seen from the U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles, the space shuttle Endeavor passes the Hollywood sign as the retired space shuttle makes the rounds of Los Angeles and Orange County landmarks before landing at LAX.

Tanton Harber, 7 , of Santa Monica peaks out from his astronaut-themed tent, while camping out on Imperial Avenue in El Segundo, overlooking the runway at LAX. He was with his brother and parents, waiting to view the arrival of the space shuttle Endeavour.

Ground operations technician Robert Hackaday monitors control panels at the Kennedy Space Center inside the cockpit of NASA 905, a modified 747 set to carry the space shuttle Endeavour for the last time.

The space shuttle Endeavour, mounted on a Boeing 747 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, was to travel to Houston on Monday, but storms pushed back its departure. The craft is still expected to arrive Thursday in L.A.

Space shuttle Endeavour

Perched atop a modified Boeing 747, the retired orbiter departed Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:22 a.m. EDT Wednesday en route to Houston, the first leg of a two-day trek to California.

The threat of thunderstorms twice pushed back the shuttle’s original departure date of Monday. But despite the delay, NASA officials said Endeavour’s cross-country farewell tour would proceed as planned. READ STORY

[UPDATED September 17, 2012] – Space shuttle Endeavour will arrive in Los Angeles a day later than originally intended after the threat of thunderstorms again delayed the start of the retired orbiter’s cross-country trip from Florida. The shuttle is now expected to reach Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, NASA announced. READ STORY

[UPDATED September 16, 2012] – One leg of the space shuttle Endeavour’s final journey has been delayed because of bad weather, but the craft will still arrive in Los Angeles on schedule Thursday, NASA announced Sunday. READ STORY

[UPDATED September 14, 2012] – Final preparations are underway in Florida for NASA’s space shuttle Endeavour to leave the East Coast on Monday and begin its voyage to its permanent home in Los Angeles.

The shuttle was to be attached Friday to the top of a Boeing 747 for the cross-country trip.

On Monday at 7:15 a.m. EDT, Endeavor is set to depart NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for the last time and head to L.A., marking a momentous return to Southern California, where the spacecraft was developed and built.

The space shuttle Endeavour is parked inside the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will arrive at LAX after a flight around the city atop a 747 transport plane. It is scheduled to be on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles beginning Oct. 30.